In having a home birth, Cortese joins thousands of other women who elect a non-clinical setting to welcome newborns. Home births are often assisted by a midwife and have gained popularity in recent years.

Following baby Shepherd's arrival, Cortese thanked her legions of "Supernatural" fans for their congratulations.

"Thank you so much for all of the well wishes!!! The Padalecki's wish everyone a Happy New Year," she wrote.

Then, weeks later, the starlet explained her absence from Twitter on Jan. 9.

"This is a little late but thank you for the birthday wishes," she tweeted to her fans. "Been in baby hibernation."

The actress also wrote, "A baby at 31, a baby at 32, What's 33 gonna bring?!!"

Padalecki joins several other actresses in Hollywood who are expanding their families this year.

In fact, fashion designer and reality television star Rachel Zoe also welcomed a baby son on Dec. 22.

"As loyal readers of The Zoe Report, I wanted you to be the first to see a picture of the beautiful new addition to our family, Kaius Jagger Berman, aka "Kai," the 42-year-old mother wrote.

The new baby joined big brother Skyler, 2.

Furthermore, Emily Blunt, Kerry Washington and Drew Barrymore are all expecting babies in the near future.